NORTH  CAROLINA 
Fish  Culture  in  No -Carolina 
S.G. Worth 


IRLF 


33    7flE 


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**-• 


FISH  CULTUBE 


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PREFACE. 


In  presenting  the  report  of  S .  GL  Worth  I  call  attention  to 
section  7  of  the  Act  creating  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
which  charges  the  Board  especially  "With  the  supervision  of 
all  measures  for  the  protection,  propagation  and  culture  of  fish 
in  the  rivers  and  other  inland  waters  of  this  State,  and  to  this 
end  they  shall  at  once  provide  for  stocking  all  available  waters 
of  the  State  with  the  most  approved  breeds  of  fishes,"  Though 
this  Act  was  not  ratified  till  as  late  as  the  12th  day  of  March, 
1877,  the  services  of  an  expert  were  secured  and  a  corps  of 
young  men  of  this  State  as  assistants  were  stationed  on  Neuse 
river  and  the  hatching  of  shad  began.  Prevailing  freshets  and 
diminutive  run  of  shad  interfered  with  full  success  of  the 
work. 

Since  that  very  great  success  has  been  attained  not  only  in 
the  propagation  of  shad  but  also  in  the  propagation  and  intro- 
duction of  California  salmon,  land-locked  salmon  and  brook 
trout.  For  the  propagation  of  the  latter  varieties  a  cheap  hatch- 
ery was  built  at  Swannanoa  Gap  in  Buncombe  county,  and  two 
seasons  of  winter  work  have  been  completed.  The  results  are 
embodied  in  the  accompanying  report. 

Commencing  only  two  years  ago  without  a  shad  box,  distri- 
buting can,  or  the  least  preparation  of  the  necessary  apparatus 
used  in  fish  culture,  or  without  a  man  in  the  State  who  knew 
the  principles  of  the  work,  the  people  of  the  State  may  congrat- 
ulate themselves  on  what  has  been  attained. 

I  would  especially  note  here  that  every  eif  ort  has  been  official- 
ly made  to  prevail  upon  the  authorities  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  to  enjoin  upon  their  Legislature  to  enact  co-operative 
laws  that  our  people  might  secure  a  partial  benefit  from  the  fish 
of  streams  running  from  this  State  into  that.  I  regret  to  say 
that  not  the  first  response  has  ever  been  made.  The  salmon 


491539 


being  more  perfectly  adapted  to  the  Yaclkin,  Catawba,  Broad 
and  Green,  over  300,000  have  been  placed  in  those  waters. 
Without  laws  prohibiting  permanent  obstructions  and  a  whole- 
sale destruction  of  the  fish  south  of  our  State  line,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  discontinue  the  release  of  more  fish  in  those  streams. 

It  would  not  only  be  foolish  to  pursue  our  operations  there, 
but  unfair  and  unjust.  It  would  be  a  repetition  of  the  abuses 
on  the  Connecticut  river  where  money  was  expended  by  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  and  the  shad  increased 
seven  times  their  former  number,  while  the  people  of  Connecti- 
cut on  the  lower  waters  reaped  almost  the  entire  benefits.  In 
the  laws  of  Virginia  they  will  make  an  exception  of  such  streams 
as  run  into  our  State  unless  we  remove  the  obstructions.  They 
will  place  no  fish  into  streams  running  into  this  State  unless  ob- 
structions to  the  passage  of  fish  are  removed  and  fish-ways  or 
other  means  of  crossing  dams  provided.  So  I  am  informed  by 
the  Fish  Commissioner  of  that  State. 

If  proper  laws  are  not  enacted  by  our  Legislature  toward  the 
protection  of  fish  it  will  not  and  shall  not  be  the  fault  of  the 
Board  under  which  I  act.  In  my  recent  report  to  the  General 
Assembly  which  received  the  unanimous  approval  and  recom- 
mendation of  the  Board,  I  entered  into  the  details  and  offered 
such  recommendations  as  seem  to  embrace  all  the  requirements 
to  subserve  the  wants  of  the  people  of  the  State  in  this  interest. 
The  operations  of  the  last  two  years  have  demonstrated  the  en- 
tire practicability  of  filling  to  its  utmost  capacity  every  stream 
in  the  State.  One  per  cent,  of  the  salmon  released  in  this  State 
are  worth  more  than  our  entire  out-lay  has  been,  and  one  per 
cent,  of  the  shad  released  at  twenty-five  cents  apiece  would  bring 
over  nine  thousand  dollars.  From  one  end  of  this  State  to  the 
other  streams  cover  its  face  like  a  net-work,  evincing  the  fact 
that  the  fishing  interests  can  be  made  one  of  our  greatest  in- 
dustries. Successful  demonstration  proves  that  one  acre  of 
water  in  New]York  State  is  more  productive  than  several  acres  of 
laad,  hence  any  future  policy  in  our  governmental  affairs  which 
fails  to  take  hold  of  our  natural  advantages  and  restore  their 


(5) 

productiveness  will  fall  short  of  the  progressive  strides  of  the 
day. 

Without  depending  on  the  uncertain  aid  of  foreign  experts 
whose  time  is  elsewhere  in  demand,  we  have  trained  young  men 
who  were  born  and  raised  here  in  our  own  State  who  are  fitted 
for  doing  all  the  work  within  our  own  borders. 

We  need  friendly  and  fostering  legislation  and  with  the  re- 
commendations before  them  it  remains  for  the  General  Assem- 
bly now  in  session  to  act. 

L.  L.  POLK, 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


REPORT. 


HON.  L.  L.  POLK  : 

SIB  : — In  accordance  with  your  request  I  submit  below  the 
operations  in  Fish  Culture  in  North  Carolina  since  April  1st, 
1878.  My  immediate  presence  in  the  execution  of  all  the  work 
done  since  that  date,  has  given  me  the  advantage  of  innumera- 
ble facts  which  bear  directly  on  the  future  of  this  work.  But  I 
have  written  to  you  frequently  as  new  points  developed,  and  in 
numerous  conversation?  have  so  fully  set  forth  the  needs  and 
requirements  that  were  pressing,  that  I  will  not  attempt  to  en- 
ter all  of  the  details  in  this  report.  This  art  is  so  new  that  very 
few  among  us  have  had  an  opportunity  of  looking  into  it  suffi- 
ciently to  know  its  requirements  or  to  pass  judgement  on  past 
o  orations.  Hence,  I  infer,  is  due  the  honor  your  honorable 
Board  has  bestowed  on  me  in  leaving  the  execution  and  the  de- 
tails of  the  work  entirely  in  my  hands.  During  the  past  twelve 
months,  ending  the  1st  of  April  1879,  we  have  released  in  the 
North  Carolina  waters  over  three  and  one-half  millions  of  young 
shad,  three  hundred  thousand  California  Salmon,  fifteen  thous- 
and five  hundred  Land-locked  Salmon  from  Maine,  and  fifty 
thousand  Mountain  or  Brook  Trout.  All  of  this  was  done  at  an 
expense  of  less  than  three  thousand  dollars,  and  among  the  ex- 
penditures was  a  sum  of  not  less  than  five  hundred  dollars  in 
permanent  structures  and  hatching  and  distributing  apparatus, 
tools,  &c.,  now  on  hand,  including  all  salaries.  This  sum 
when  compared  with  results  will  bear  favorable  comparison  with 
similar  work  done  any  where  on  the  globe.  To  convey  an  idea 
of  the  immense  returns  in  fish  culture,  I  will  make  a  statement 
which  may  surprise  you.  California  Salmon  attain  an  average 
weight  of  20  pounds,  and  sell  readily  at  twenty-five  cents  a 
pound.  If  we  suppose  that  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  three 
hundred  thousand  hatched  this  season  are  never  heard  from  and 


(8) 

that  the  one  percent  which  do  return  attain  the  average  weight 
of  other  waters  and  bring  a  price  of  five  cents  a   pound,  the  Sal- 
mon of  the  past  season  alone  will  more  than  pay  the  expense  of 
the  whole  season,  including  the  Shad,  Land-locked  Salmon  and 
Trout.     The  immense  losses  in  the  eggs  and  fry  of  fish  seems  to 
have  been  a  great  foresight  of    nature  in  giving  to  them  the 
gi  eatest  ova-bearing  powers  of  any  of  the  vertebrate  animals.  A  40- 
pound  Salmon  produces  30,000  eggs  annually;  the  Yellow  Perch 
(Raccoon   Perch  or  Red-fin   Trout)    20,000   to  30,000;    White 
fish  of  the  Great  Lakes  60,000  to  70,000;  Shad  30,000;  Carp  over 
300,000;     Mackerel     over   500,000;     Turbot    and    Cod    about 
9,000,000;  Sturgeon  7,000,000,  and  a  species  of  Mullet  13,000,- 
000  !       These  figures  are  from  scientists  and  fi«h-culturists,  and 
an  annual  value  of  the  fish-catch  of   the   world,  amounting  to 
$120,000,000,  will  convey  some  idea  of  the  millions  and  millions 
of  eggs  annually  produced  1rom   a  mass  of  fish  aggregating  so 
many  millions  of  dollars.     On  examination  of  the  nests  of  the 
California  Salmon  it  is  found  that  only  eight  per  cent  of  the  eggs 
are  impregnated.     By  the  artificial  method  of  impregnation  we 
secure  ninety  to  ninety -five  per  cent !     After   impregnation  by 
the  natural  method  the  eggs  are  left  a  prey  to  enemies  of   innu- 
merable numbers.     Shad  eggs  are  exposed  three  to  five  days,  and 
our  common  pond  fishes  twenty  to   thirty,  and  the  Salmon  fifty 
to  seventy.     After  hatching,  these   fish  are  helpless,  some  a  few 
days,  (shad  a  week)  some  for  months  as  in  the  case  of  Salmon, 
Mountain  Trout  and  fall-spawning  fish  generally.     By  the  arti- 
ficial methods  they  are  not  only  almost  entirely  impregnated, 
but  they  are  kept  in  cones,  troughs   and  other  vessels,  and  each 
day  the  dead  removed  and   further  communication  of   fungoid 
growth  stopped.     And  when  the  young  are  ready  to  go  out  they 
are  conveyed  to  head  streams,  where  other   fish  are  scarce  and 
where  cold  water  suppresses  the  numerous  hosts  of  insects  and 
crustacenas  that  abound  in  the  lower  and  warmer  waters.     We 
can  see  readily,  that  few  arrive  at  maturity,  when  we  recall  that 
one  single  sturgeon  produces  seven  million  eggs  and  that  a  num- 
ber less  than  ten  thousand  are  taken  annually  in  the  Cape  Fear. 
Few  realize  the  value  of   fish,  but  a   moment   of   reflection  will 
sliow  that  they  cost  us  nothing,  and  that  by  replacing  them  in 


(9) 

the  waters  by  aiding  their  imperfect  efforts  we  restore  to  our 
land  at  a  nominal  cost  its  millions  of  wealth  that  our  streams 
annually  bear  away  to  the  ocean.  Who  knows  the  value  of  the 
constituents  of  our  gliding  rivers,  and  by  what  means  can  we 
reclaim  it  ?  By  the  judicious  expenditure  of  a  few  thousand 
dollars  annually  we  can  attain  it.  If  our  people  Icok  this  year 
for  any  return  from  what  has  been  done,  they  must  remember 
that  the  patient  farmer  sows  his  seed  and  waits  till  they  have 
had  time  to  develope  and  mature.  No  shad  return  in  one  year, 
and  indeed  no  roe  shad  ever  returned  to  fresh  water  till  the 
third  year. 

Long  ago  fish  became  scarce  as  the  population  of  Europe  in- 
creased and  fish  culture  there  is  an  established  thing.  Millions 
of  fry  are  annually  liberated  from  their  hatching  houses,  and 
such  judicious  laws  have  been  made  as  to  foster  and  protect 
them.  In  Great  Britain  a  river  yielding  in  1853  less  than  2,000 
Salmon  was  majde  to  produce  in  1866  upwards  of  20,000.  The 
Tay  then  leasing  for  $43,500  came  up  in  1866  to  $75,000;  and  in 
Ireland  in  1866  one  thousand  tons  of  Salmon  were  transported 
against  almost  none  ten  years  previous.  In  the  United  States 
we  find  shad  now  nourishing  in  the  Sacramento  river  in  Califor- 
nia, where  they  were  unknown  till  placed  there  in  1871.  The 
first  results  seen  on  the  Connecticut  from  artificial  propagation 
of  shad  increased  the  usual  catch  seven  fold.  Twenty-five 
thousand  shad  were  taken  in  one  locality  one  morning  and  the 
Northern  markets  were  overstocked  and  the  price  of  eighteen 
dollars  per  hundred  reduced  to  three  !  In  that  river  the  Sal- 
mon had  entirely  disappeared,  but  in  1872-?73  fry  were  intro- 
duced and  since  that  time  sufficient  numbers  of  12  to  18  pounds 
weight  have  [returned  to  justify  increased  operations.  The 
fruits  of  past  work  are  also  being  seen  on  the  Delaware,  Susque- 
hanna  and  all  other  streams  where  the  fish  have  had  time  to  ma- 
ture and  return.  On  the  Merrimack  a  dam  of  25  feet  height 
completely  cut  off  the  passsage  of  Salmon  to  their  spawning 
grounds,  and  for  thirty  years  not  one  was  seen,  but  by  introduc- 
ing the  fry  from  other  streams  they  have  found  that  upwards  of 


(10) 

one  thousand  went  over  the  fish  way  on  the  same  dam  in  the  first 
year  of  their  return. 

Propagation  by  the  artificial  method  is  an  outgrowth  of  neces- 
sity. A  hundred  years  ago  every  stream  from  the  St.  Johns  to 
the  St.  Lawrence  teamed  with  its  thousands  of  shad.  To-day 
they  have  become  so  scarce  that  we  are  compelled  to  resort  to 
the  largest  fisheries  in  the  land  to  obtain  enough  spawn  to  make 
our  work  profitable.  In  the  absence  of  any  data  relative  to  the 
run  of  shad  in  our  own  waters  in  former  days,  I  will  state  that 
the  catch  of  shad  on  the  Potomac  in  1835  was  22.500,000,  which 
contrasts  severely  with  any  season  approaching  the  present.  The 
alarming  decrease  in  numbers  of  fish,  when  brought  before  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  and  fully  impressed,  at  once  led 
to  the  creation  of  a  commission  for  the  purpose  of  enquiring 
into  their  decrease,  and  for  the  institution  of  measures  for  their 
increase  and  protection;  hence  originated  the  United  State 
Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  which  has  been  the  great  mo- 
tive power  and  educator  in  this  branch  ever  since.  Twenty- 
seven  States  are  now  actively  engaged  in  restocking  their  waters, 
and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  with  limited  means  we  have  made 
a  very  decided  beginning  in  North  Carolina  in  two  short  years. 
With  the  finest  shad  fishing  grounds  in  the  world,  and  many 
secluded  mountain  streams  yet  full  of  trout  we  are  ful- 
ly capable  of  supplying  every  county  in  the  State 
with  as  many  fish  as  the  people  can  consume.  In  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  shad  caught  in  our  waters  sell  in  northern  mar- 
kets before  the  run  of  fish  has  extended  into  their  streams,  and 
since  our  sales  there  bring  double  the  price  of  theirs  by  sup- 
plying the  early  demand,  it  is  very  plain  to  be  seen  that  in  re- 
stocking our  sounds  and  rivers  to  ten  times  their  present  capac- 
ity, we  can  supply  every  demand  at  home  and  bring  into  our 
State  thousands  of  dollars  from  abroad.  As  the  truck-farms  of 
the  south  arc  annually  reducing  the  value  of  like  products  on 
those  further  north,  in  supplying  the  ready  demand  for  early 
vegetables  and  fruit's,  so  will  the  fisheries  of  Albemarle  sound 
and  other  waters,  in  like  manner  reap  large  cash  sums  of 
money  from  northern  markets  if  the  millions  of  eggs  now  an- 


(11) 

-finally  wasted  on  the  sein  beaches,   are  only  hatched  and  cared 
for. 

The  taking  and  hatching  of  the  many  millions  of  eggs  1;  y  the 
United  States  Commission  last  season,  was  simply  saving  the 
millions,  not  one  of  which  would  otherwise  have  produced  a 
fish, 

SHAD. 

Early  in  April,  in  compliance  with  instructions  from  you,  I 

.repaired  to  the  Albenrirle  Sound,  with  a  few  assistants  to  work 

in  conjunction  with  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  that 

-of  the  State  of  Maryland  and  that  of  Virginia.  The  gathering  of 

ova  which  requires  a  special  out-fit  in  the  way  of  a  steam  launch 

.and    a  number  of  small  boats  and  an  efficient  working  force 

of  ten  to  twenty  men,  and  the  hatching  of  the  ova  involving  a 

great  variety  of  equipments  and  a  good  working  force  to  operate, 

were  conducted  entirely  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States 

Government  and  the  State  of  Maryland. 

The  United  States  Deputy  Commissioner,  executing  tho 
work,  having  an  active  force  of  distributing  messengers 
at  comnicind  hurriedly  pushed  all  shipments  possible,  to  tho 
more  southern  States.  He  doing  general  Government  work  in 
.which  tlie  whole  country  is  alike  interested,  manifestly  did  his 
duty  in  making  an  extended  outlay  of  sevenal  millions  of  shad 
while  tho  weathor  was  yet  cool.  At  length  when  the  shad  com- 
menced spawing  in  great  numbers  the  youtig  fry  accumulated 
.faster  than  tho  United  Sates  M/ossongors  could  5-3 1  thorn'  uwuv 
.and  then  we  were  granted  the  right  to  take  into  the  interior  of 
the  State  all  we  could.  But,  young  shad,  after  ten  days  of  age, 
require  food,  and  cannot  be  safely  carriod,  and  further  than 
this,  forty- two  hours  had  to  be  consumed  in  making  a  round 
trip  to  Frarfklin  Virginia,  on  each  shipment — only  seventy-five 
miles  distant.  Hence  it  followed,  that  the  groat  bulk  of  fish  on 
hand  had  necessarily  to  bo  consigned  to  immediate  waters.  To 
get  a  larger  number  into  more  suitable  points  of  release  will  re- 
quire a  standing  force  of  not  less  than  ten  men  who  shall  ba 


(12) 

ttationed  at  or  near  the  hatchery  ready  at  the  proper  moment  to 
move  half  a  million  at  a  single  dash.  I  do  not  call  into  ques- 
tion the  wisdom  of  your  Honorable  Board  in  limiting  the  amount 
of  expenditures  on  the  coming  spring  operations;  yet  in  view  of 
not  being  able  to  determine  the  particular  time  at  which  shad 
begin  to  spawn.  First,  it  is  necessary  to  station  a  force  on  tho- 
sound  early  enough  to  loose  nothing.  Second,  since  we  get  fry 
for  our  streams  only  at  intervals  when  the  United  States  men 
cannot  move  them  and  when  rapid  execution  is  necessary,  a 
smaller  force  than  ten  men  would  be  of  little  efficient  service. 
Third,  this  work  requires  character,  intelligence  and  willing- 
ness to  undergo  work  full  of  hardship  and  exposure  to  weather, 
and  such  material,  ought  at  least  to  have  a  reasonable  compensa- 
tion; and  while  we  placed  into  North  Carolina  waters  nearly 
four  million  shad  at  a  nominal  cost  compared  with  the  benefits 
to  follow,  and  while  we  will  promptly  carry  out  the  designs  of 
your  Honorable  Board  in  like  manner  in  the  work  immediately 
before  us,  it  is  yet  a  serious  matter  of  regret  that  we  are  obliged 
to  look  calmly  on  at  the  operations  of  the  United  States  work 
and  see  annually  ten  to  twenty  million  shad  fry  shipped  out  of 
North  Carolina  to  replete  the  water  of  other  States,  when  for 
twro  thousand  dollars  economically  applied  every  one  of  these 
could  be  turned  into  the  fine  headwaters  of  our  own  streams. 
No  State  in  the  world  has  a  better  showing  to  fill  all  its  steams, 
than  this  State  has  from  the  immense  fisheries  on  the  Albemarle 
Found.  A  beginning  has  there  been  made  iu  permanent 
hatching  structures,  by  the  erection  of  a  tank  of  the  very  best 
quality  with  cones  for  hatching  the  eggs. 

MOUNTAIN  OK  BROOK   TROUT. 

After  earnest  entreaty  on  my  part,  it  was  agreedlast  June 
that  I  should  be  allowed  to  collect  as  cheaply  as  possible  some  of 
our  fine  brook  trout — yet  abundant  in  our  most  retired  western 
streams  for  spawn  taking  purposes.  Accordingly  I  spent  sever- 
al weeks  in  some  of  the  wildest  mountain  gorges  of  the  State.  In 
the  more  settled  portions  they  have  become  scarce  and  some  of 


(13) 

the  finest  procured  were  carried  from  the  headwaters  of  Tow 
river  at  the  base  of  Mitchell's  peak  directly  up  the  side  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  Pinnacle.  I 
was  accompanied  by  a  small  party  and  we  relieved  each  other  by 
turns.  These  fish  we  carried  on  our  shoulders  four  miles  up  the 
Ridge  and  three  miles  down  accomplishing  a  trip  in  ten  hours 
and  thirty  minutes.  On  an  average  the  water  was  renewed  every 
seven  minutes  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  we  had  to  wade 
the  streams  and  follow  a  course  that  only  men  reared  in  those 
mountains  could  follow,  it  may  well  be  realized  that  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  highest  summer  heat  ever  known  there,  that  the 
undertaking  was  of  a  severe  nature. 

Owing  to  the  streams  being  ''fished  out"  at  so  late  a  season  as 
July  3rd  and  fish  being  scarce,  and  the  high  summer  heat  and 
slow  transit  over  the  rocky  and  in  many  places  nearly  impassable 
roads,  I  could  not  get  any  vast  number,  and  of  those  I  did  get* 
many  were  lost  through  the  last  mentioned  agencies.  I  secured 
over  2000  fish,  but  from  deaths  from  various  causes,  including 
injuries  in  the  brain  from  the  hook,  they  only  numbered  1400 
in  September.  Since  then  the  deaths  have  ceased.  For 
the  purpose  of  sortin or  these  I  built  three  cheap  ponds  for  their 
accommodation.  I  began  to  take  ova  from  these  on  the  29th 
day  of  October  at  the  Salmon  Hatchery  at  Swannanoa  Gap.  I 
+ook  but  ten  thousand,  when  the  fish  became  so  wild  that  they 
would  no  longer  enter  the  spawning  races,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
stop.  It  was  not  advisable  to  net  them  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  Salmon  from  California  were  hatched  in  the  house  below, 
and  I  deemed  it  unsafe  to  stir  up  the  bottom  and  send  down  an 
epidemic — producing  volume  of  impure  gases  which  had  form- 
ed from  waste  meats  in  feeding  the  trout  previously.  I  do  not 
know  what  number  were  left  in  the  trout  but  probably  sixty 
thousand.  Young  trout  have  just  hatched  from  those  eggs. 
Besides  these  the  50,000  trout  eggs  ordered  from  New 
Hampshire  are  now  hatched,  save  10,000  which  became  solidly 
frozen  up  in  the  cold  weather  from  January  2nd  to  8th  They 
are  yet  on  hand  at  the  Hatchery  at  Swannanoa  Gap,  being  too 
young  to  go  into  the  streams. 


(14) 

With  the  knowledge  attained  this  season,  which  was  my  first 
experience  with  trout,  and  with  care  and  feeding  the  trout 
through  the  spring  and  summer  and  increasing  their  size,  at 
least  200,000  eggs  can  be  taken  from  them  next  fall,  while  the 
salmon  are  being  hatched.  If  we  were  to  purchase  this  number 
from  the  north  they  would  not  cost  less  than  six  hundred  dollars 
Farther  than  this  the  trout  in  the  ponds  will  produce  a  greater 
number  of  eggs  each  season.  Our  hatching  house  building  is 
of  the  most  inferior  quality,  but  was  constructed  for  experimen- 
tal work  and  has  answered  all  purposes  so  far;  but  as  nothing 
but  running  branch  water  is  used,  its  temperature  is  so  reduced, 
in  cold  weather  as  to  freeze  solid  in  troughs,  house  and  ponds 
without  incessant  labor  right  and  day  while  the  cold  spells  pre- 
vail. The  troughs,  reservoir  and  supply  troughs  are  common 
and  leaky  and^the  ice  formed  eighteen  inches  thick  on  our  entire 
floor,  even  encroaching  on  our  office, freezing  six  inches  thick  and 
remaining  a  month  in  the  bunks  made  for  our  sleeping  accom- 
modation, and  within  four  feet  of  a  stove  in  which  a  fire  burn- 
ed night  and  day  for  weeks.  I  respectfully  recommend  that  we 
may  have  a  new  building  and  at  a  point  at  which  we  may  get 
spring  Avater  and  be  near  enough  a  market  to  buy  necessary 
articles  without  having  to  pay  double  their  value  to  get  them  to 
us;  also  where  we  can  get  fish  food  regularly  and  cheaply.  At  at 
elevation  of  2600  feet  we  may  resonably  look  for  cold  weather 
every  winter,  and  the  house  cannot  be  carried  safely  through 
another  winter  of  etjual  severity  with  the  present. 

CALIFORNIA    SALMON. 

On  the  8th  of  Oct.  1878,  315,000  California  salmon  eggs  reached 
Henry's  and  I  commenced  the  regular  winter  season  with  Mr. 
C.  J.  Huske,  of  Fayetteville,  assisting.  On  the  9th  of  October 
an  additional  number  of  52,500  of  the  same  eggs  came,  making 
a  total  of  o67,500.  These  cgga  were  allotted  to  North  Carolina. 
by  Prof.  S.  F.  Baird,  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  of  the 
United  States.  They  are  taken  annually  to  the  number  of  five 
to  seven  millions  on  the  McCloud  river,  California,  under  in- 


(1.5) 

structions  from  Prof.  Baird.  His  idea  has  been  that  this  salmon 
will  ascend  our  warm  Southern  streams,  and  the  eggs  coming 
from  the  general  fund  cost  us  nothing  but  express  charges. 
Last  season  over  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  were  turned 
loose  in  our  waters  and  although  this  season  one  crate  of  52,500 
were  almost  a  total  loss  from  over-heating  while  en  route,  the 
rest  turned  out  in  a  most  gratifying  manner  and  we  released 
upwards  of  300,000.  In  the  hatching  ponds  at  Swannanoa 
Gap  I  have  eight  of  those  hatched  last  fall,  and  many  were  seen 
last  summer  in  the  streams  in  which  they  had  been  released. 
They  are  six  inches  long  and  much  more  active  than  the  moun- 
tain trout.  I  am  reliably  informed  that  a  few  of  this  same 
variety  placed  into  Dr.  D.  W.  C.  Benbow's  pond,  near  Greens- 
boro, in  the  fall — winter  of  1875,  measured  at  two  years  of  age 
7iineteen  inches  in  length.  At  that  time  they  had  been  in  fresh 
Avater  six  months  longer  than  nature  provides,  and  demt  nstrated 
their  power  to  live  even  in  as  warm  water  as  our  midland  streams 
afford. 

On  reference  to  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries 
of  California,  of  1877,  it  will  be  found  that  this  species  has  been 
converted  into  a  fresh  water  fish  when  effectually  cut  off  from 
the  lower  waters,  but  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  it  would 
do  so  in  our  waters  in  pure,  clear  mountain  streams  only.  Thus 
changed  they  attained  a  weight  of  as  much  as  ten  pounds.  As 
before  stated  the  California  salmon  attains  naturally  an  average 
weight  of  twenty  pounds.  The  larger  ones  attain  forty,  sixty 
and  sometimes  seventy  pounds.  The  young  remain  in  fresh  water 
about  eighteen  months  and  then  pass  down  to  the  sea.  Here 
they  remain  till  grown  when  they  return  in  the  fall  months  to 
spawn.  A  large  number  have  been  seen  in  Atlantic  rivers  al- 
ready, and  if  their  introduction  proves  a  complete  success  we 
will  have  at  our  doors  the  finest  fish  in  the  world.  Why  it  shall 
not  live  here  I  cannot  see.  Full  three  fourths  of  the  plants, 
cereals,  vegetables  and  grasses  on  which  man  and  other  animals 
live  are  imported.  There  is  a  vast  revenue  derived  from  salmon 
on  rivers  where  they  have  not  been  recklessly  destroyed.  The 
salmon  of  the  Columbia  river,  Oregon,  arc  yet  abundant  and 
furnished  a  few  seasons  back  in  amounts,  canned,  thirteen  mil- 


(16) 

lion  pounds.  I  earnestly  desire  that  every  measure  may  b« 
taken  by  your  honorable  Board  to  protect  those  now  in  our 
streams,  and  to  allow  us  to  continue  the  hatching  and  distribut- 
ing of  this  valuable  species  each  succeeding  year.  The  number 
of  this  variety  placed  in  our  waters  in  the  winter  season  of 
1877-78  were  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand.  They 
were  hatched  at  the  Swannanoa  hatchery  by  Mr.  W.  F.  Page, 
of  Virginia,  who  superintended  that,  our  first  season  in  salmon. 

LAND-LOCKED   SALMON. 

The  fifteen  thousand  five  hundred  salmon  of  this  name  were 
brought  from  the  Maryland  State  hatchery  the  first  week  in 
April  last.  They  had  been  hatched  at  the  Druid  Hill  Hatchery 
under  the  supervision  of  Maj.  T.  B.  Ferguson.  Those  who 
know  the  excellent  flavor  and  qualities  of  this  and  the  California 
salmon,  will  appreciate  the  character  and  importance  of  the 
task  we  have  undertaken.  The  land-locked  salmon  is  not  migra- 
tory in  its  habits,  but  remains  exclusively  in  fresh,  clear  and 
cold  waters.  Tney  attain  a  weight  of  several  pounds  and  take 
both  the  baited  hook  and  artificial  flies.  For  the  head  streams 
of  our  rivers  taking  rise  west  of  Greensboro  this  fish  seems  en- 
tirely adapted,  and  I  respectfully  recommend  that  more  atten- 
tion be  given  it  in  our  future  operations.  They  can  be  hatched 
simultaneously  with  the  California  salmon  and  mountain  trout. 

FISH  THAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  FOSTERED. 

I  would  respectfully  call  attention  to  the  importance  of  rock 
fish  and  sturgeon.  These  are  native  fish  and  can  be  made  of 
immense  value  in  the  streams  of  this  State. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  the  rock  fish  remains  in 
our  streams  half  of  the  year,  they  ascend  in  the  fall  and  remain 
till  the  shad  season  is  past.  From  what  I  learn  there  is  no 
doubt  that  their  spawn  can  be  obtained  in  abundance  on  the 
lioanoke  river  near  Weldon.  The  immense  number  of  eggs 
found  in  sturgeon  leads  to  a  positive  assurance  that  we  could 


(17) 

increase  them  to  an  almest  unlimited  extent.  I  do  not  profesi 
any  keen  relish  for  them  as  food,  but  I  have  noticed  that  at  the 
most  successful  fisheries  in  the  State,  they  always  were  taken  off 
and  sold  or  eaten  on  the  beach.  They  subsist  by  suction,  liv- 
ing on  decayed  matter,  animal  and  vegetable,  and  could  exist 
by  thousands  above  the  present  number  and  not  only  find  an 
abundance  of  food  but  would  consume  that  which  would  not 
otherwise  be  utilized.  There  are  some  who  regard  sturgeon  as 
a  good  article  of  food  and  others  pronounce  it  a  delicacy.  I  am 
very  positive  that  no  article  of  food  is  more  wholesome  and  the 
oil  from  them  is  always  utilized  and  sells  for  a  price  that  is  al- 
ways sufficient  to  insure  its  being  boiled  out.  In  my  opinion  it 
can  be  made  of  equal  value  with  any  other  fish  in  our  waters. 

Under  this  head  I  will  here  state  that  the  people  of  this  com- 
monwealth are  making  so  many  urgent  requests  for  fish  for  pri- 
vate ponds,  that  it  becomes  my  duty  to  call  the  fact  to  the  atten- 
tion of  your  Board.  Acting  under  the  requirements  of  the  present 
law,  creating  and  setting  forth  the  operations  of  this  part  of 
your  Department,  it  has  been  conceived  to  be  right,  to  handle 
only  such  fish  as  were  of  greatest  commercial  value  and  of  great- 
est importance  to  the  people  at  large.  That  we  should  not  be 
enabled  to  aid  in  perfecting  the  efforts  of  individuals,  who  have 
recently  become  enlivened  to  the  the  importance  of  enriching 
their  waters,  is  a  matter  of  regret.  Parties  all  over  the  State  have 
built  ponds  for  this  purpose  and  others  who  hare  fine  sheets  of 
water  are  constantly  making  application.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  percoid  family  of  fishes  already  in  our  waters, 
are  of  fine  flavor  and  respectable  size,  and  could  with  a  moder- 
ate sum  be  propagated  at  a  hatchery  in  some  eastern  or  midland 
county  with  vety  great  success,  I  take  the  liberty  of  calling 
the  matter  up,  hoping  that  it  may  receive  your  commendation 
and  that  of  the  people,  so  that  when  the  next  General  Assembly 
convenes  we  may  have  our  field  enlarged  and  our  labors  made 
profitable  in  almost  every  township  throughout  the  State. 


(18 


18  THE  INTERIOR   OF  THE    STATE    ENTITLED  TO    THE    RESULTS  OF 
THIS  WORK  ? 

In  answer  to  this  it  may  be  emphatically  said  that  without  our 
streams  are  opened  to  their  sources,  and  all  obstructions  to  the 
passage  and  destruction  of  fish  removed,  they  cannot  receive, 
except  in  an  indirect  way  any  benefit  from  what  we  are  doing. 
To  those  who  occupy  the  large  fisheries  in  the  sounds  and  lower 
rivers  and  reap  the  "Harvest  of  the  Sea"  by  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands, this  question  is  of  greater  importance.  The  decrease,  now  so 
alarmingly  apparant  is  due,  more  to  the  obstructions  above  than 
to  any  other  cause.  Shad  and  sturgeon  formerly  ascended  the 
Oatawba  and  Yadkin  almost  to  their  head  waters.  Nature  di- 
rected them  to  the  pure  clear  water,  where  on  gravelly  bottoms 
the  eggs  would  successfully  hatch  and  escape  the  myriads  of" 
enemies  below.  By  ina','s  agency  they  have  been  cut  off  and  the 
result  is  sadly  felt.  A  general  law  requiring  all  owners  of  dams 
to  build  a  sluice-way  over  each,  niter  a  pattern  prescribed  by 
your  board  is  our  only  hope.  Such  a  m  vlel  as  you  suggest  can 
be  made  to  answer  the  offices  of  its  design.  Existing  laws  regu- 
lating the  construction  of  fish  ways  cannot  be  carried  into  exe~ 
cution,  and  equity  preserved.  It  should  be  the  duty  of  one  in- 
dividual to  supervise  the  construction  of  each  way,  that  experience 
in  the  derails  may  conduce  to  economy  in  their  construction  and 
that  the  water  powers  may  suffer  no  injurv.  In  an  act  re- 
quiring the  above,  there  should  be  also  the  requirement  that 
these  ways  should  be  kept  open  from  February  1st  to  June  1st, 
and  at  all  other  times  when  water  is  sufficient  to  allow  it,  I 
would  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  fisfy  way  recently 
invented  by  Col.  M.  McDonald  Fish  Commissioner  of  Vir- 
ginia. It  is  an  unquestionable  success,  and  this,  many  have 
sought  after  and  utterly  failed  in.  As  fish  naturally  go  down 
stream  into  deeper  waters  as  winter  approaches,  the  constant  and 
never-ceasing  tendency  is  to  leave  above  each  succeeding  year 
the  puny  offspring  of  fast-growing  inferior  ancestry. 

The  dams  stand  as  barriers  and  destroyers  and  if  the  remedy 
is    not  applied   our  annual  supply  will  necessarily  be   on    thfr 


(19) 

diminishing  scale.  The  importance  of  this  measure  bears  on 
every  inhabitant  of  the  State  and  cannot  be  too  urgently  press- 
ed. The  labors  of  this  work  are  for  the  people  and  unless  the- 
dams  are  deprived  of  their  objectionable  feature  they  will  be  de- 
nied that,  which  we  cannot  with  our  powers  afford  them.  Co- 
operative laws  in  South  Carolina  must  be  obtained  or  the  in- 
habitants of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Yadkin,  Catawba,  Broad 
and  Green  Rivers  will  never  reap  the  treasures  of  those  streams. 
Unless  the  laws  of  that  State  regulating  fishing  and  the  removal 
of  obstructions  are  enacted  before  the  results  of  our  work  have 
become  an  object,  we  will  never  secure  them.  Over  three  hun- 
dred thousand  California  salmon  have  been  released  in  waters 
running  through  that  State.  It  would  be  a  pity  to  lose  all  of 
them.  With  such  laws  and  enough  funds  to  run  our  work  on 
a  legitimate  basis  we  will  fill  every  stream  in  the  State.  No 
State  can  boast  finer  waters,  besides  the  Chowan,  Nottoway^ 
Tar,  Neuse,  Cape  Fear.  Yadkin  and  Catawba,  smaller  streams 
fill  up  all  the  gaps  between,  and  inlets  and  sounds  indent  a  coast 
line  for  hundreds  of  miles.  Go  to  the  Linville,  John's,  Swan- 
nanoa,  Tuckaseege,  Nantihala,  Pacolet,  Green  and  Broad  and 
you  find  waters  as  pure,  clear  and  limpid  as  the  world  affords* 
We  have  now  the  skill  and  appliances  to  restore  them  to  their 
former  abundance. 

In  conclusion  I  will  ask  you  to  secure  if  possible  a  law  pre- 
venting the  use  of  explosives  in  the  capture  and  destruction  of 
fish  in  North  Carolina  waters ;  also  to  prevent  the  destruction 
of  any  of  the  salmon  we  have  introduced  into  our  waters^ 
making  not  the  capture  but  possession  the  offence.  The  reasons 
for  protecting  them  are  manifest. 

Below  will  be  found  a  table  showing  what  dssposition  we 
have  made  of  the  fish  released  in  the  waters  of  this  State.  It 
includes  some  work  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  and 
of  Mr.  Frank  N.  Clark  and  W.  F.  Page  who  had  charge  of  the 
work  during  the  first  two  seasons. 

I  would  call  to  your  special  attention  the  earnest  and  faithful 
labors  of  Chas.  J.  Huske,  Wm.  M.  Russ  and  Thomas  Taylor 
who  have  shown  character,  willingness  and  determination  while 
aiding  in  the  prosecution  of  our  work. 


(20) 

Special  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  friends  of  our  depart- 
"ment'at  Henry's  and  the  Swannanoa  Gap  without  whose  cheer- 
ful assistance  we  would  not  only  have  been  constantly  in  many 
•difficulties  (which  there  were  numberless)  but  to  them  is  also 
due^thejpreservation  of  half  our  salmon  during  the  freezing 
•weather  in  January.  Thanks  are  also  due  to  Maj.  J.  W.  Wil- 
son, President  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad  and  to 
all  the  officers  along  the  line  whose  effective  aid  will  be  remem- 
bered. Also  to  the  officials  of  the  Charlotte  &  Atlanta  Air  Line 
and  of  the  Spartanburg  &  Asheville  railroad  and  to  Mr.  Frank 
€oxe  of  Charlotte.  Also  to  officials  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston 
railroad'and  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  railroad,  and  to  the 
gentlemen  controlling  the  steamers  of  the  Albemarle  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  and  to  the  various  railroad  officials 
throughout  the  State.  In  almost  every  locality  into  which  our 
operations  have  taken  us  we  have  met  with  cordial  and  enthusi- 
astic support  from  citizens  of  all  classes. 

To  Dr.  W.  R.  Capehart  is  due  much  of  our  success  on  the 
Albemarle  Sound.  His  efforts  to  concentrate  operations  at  his 
fisheries  were  supported  by  his  untiring  efforts  to  make  our  work 
a  success. 

I  am  respectfully  yours, 

S.  G.  WORTH. 


APPENDIX. 

DISTRIBUTION   OF  FRY. 

SHAD,* 

Prior  to  the  establishment  of  this  department,  the  United 
States  Fish  Commission  distributed  to  our  waters,  as  follows  : 

May,  1873,  Neuse  River,  .  .  .  43,000 

May,  1876,  Neuse  River,  .  .  .  98,000 

June,  1876,  Catawba  River,  .  .  .  72,000- 

SEASON  OF  1877-78. 


Neuse  River,  May,  1877, 

134,000 

y  ad  kin  River,  July,  " 

73,000 

Haw          "          "      "                ... 

.      70,000^ 

Catawba    " 

67,000 

Oontentnea  Creek,  July,  1877,  . 

•      52,000 

Tar  River,  July,  1877, 

50,000 

Nottoway  River,  April  llth,  1878, 

.     111,000 

Roanoke         "         "         "         "    . 

139,000 

Neuse            <'        "      12th,    " 

.       100,000 

Meherrin       "         "                   "    . 

150,000 

Salmon  Creek,        "      loth,    " 

120,000 

*  The  seemingly  undue  proportion  released  in  the  vicinity  of  Avoca  was  una- 
voidable. The  young  fry  had  to  be  transported  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles 
by  water  to  reach  a  railroad,  and  it  employed  the  time  of  the  messengers,  day  and 
night,  to  keep  the  hatcheries  clear.  The  run  and  catch  of  the  spawners  was  af- 
fected greatly  by  the  state  of  the  weather,  A  heavy  catch,  especially  towards  the 
close  of  the  season,  would  sometimes  occur  when  the  boxes  and  apparatus  were 
employed  to  their  fullest  capacity,  and  if  the  steamboats  and  messengers  were- 
not  at  hand,  the  fry  had  to  be  released  to  make  room  for  the  new  supply  of  eggs. 


Neuse  River,       April    20th,  1878,         .  .  .     50,000 

Tar         "                "      22d,      "                .             .  100,000 

Salmon  Creek,        •'<      24th,               .             ,             .  800,000 

"       25th,    "  200,000 

Chowan  River,        "       25th,    "      ,             .             .  200,000 

Albemarle  Sound,  "       25th,    "           .            .             .  115,000 

Roanoke  River,      "      26th,     "      .             .             .  250,000 

Salmon  Creek,       "      26th,     "            .             .            .  25,000 

Albemarle  Sound, "       26th,     "      .             .             .  70,000 

f  Six  Runs,  N.  E.  Cape  Eear,  April  26th,  1878          .  100,000 

f  Goshen  Creek,  N.  E.  Cape  Fear,  April  26th,  1878,  100,000 

Salmon         "        April  28th,  1878,             .             .  300,000 

"     29th,      •'                      .  18,000 

"     30th,     ."             .              .  45,000 

Tar  River,  May  3d,        ....  150,000 

Yadkin  River,  June  8th,         .                 .                 .  50,000 

Catawba  River,  June  10th,                 .                 .             .  50,000 


Making  a  total  of  .  .  3,302,000 

1 4 

CALIFORNIA    SALMON — WINTER    OF    1877-'78.         / 


Dec., 

1877—  Yadkin    River, 

.       60,000 

« 

Pigeon         "     . 

10,000 

t( 

Broad 

25,000 

K 

"        Swannanoa   " 

27,OCO 

Jan  ., 

1878—  Cape  Fear   " 

.       20,006? 

(» 

"        Linville       " 

1:2,000 

a 

"        John's 

30,000 

t( 

"        Catawba      " 

50,000 

Total; 

234,000 

-f  The  only  accessible  points  of  release. 


(23) 

CALIFORNIA   SALMON— WINTER  OF  1878-'79. 

'To  Green    River,  on  the  S.  &  A.  Railroad,  .  30,000 

"  Broad         "     at  the  mouth  of  Reedy  Patch  Creek,  45,000 

"  Linville      "     near  Bridgewater,         .  .  30,000 

"  John's        "     12  miles  from  Morganton,  .  30,000 

"  Yadkin      l<     at  Patterson's,  .  .  .  60,000 

11  Deep          "     at  Jamestown,  .  .  .  65,000 

"  Town  Creek,  at  Germanton,  .  .  .  20,000 

•"  Dan    River,     near  Danbury,  .  .  .  20,000 


Total,  300,000 

LAND-LOCKED  SALMON— APRIL  5TH,  1878. 

April,    1878— John's   River,  .                .                   1,000 

Linville    "  .                .                .          4,400 

Mayo        "  .                .                   3,000 

Dan           "  .                 .          3,000 

Ponds  near  Charlotte,            .  .                       500 

"         "     Greensboro,  .                .                .           2,000 

"         "     Morganton,         .  .                 .                      600 

•"         "     Salisbury,  .                .                .             1,000 


Total,  ....  15,500 


NOTES  ON  THE   CONSTRUCTION  OF   PRIVATE  FISH 

PONDS. 

HON.  L.  L.  POLK: 

Sir: — In  obedience  to  your  request  to  furnish  some  practical 
hints  about  the  construction  and  management  of  private  fish 
ponds  I  will  make  a  few  brief  suggestions.  The  numerous 
letters  you  have  received  show  a  general  interest  throughout  the 
•State,  but  this  is  especially  the  case  in  the  middle  section. 

When  popular  opinion  becomes  stronger  in  favor  of  fish  cul- 


(24) 

cule,  better  facilities  will  be  offered  for  the  attainment  of  irnpror- 
ed  breeds  for  stocking  ponds.  At  present  it  is  not  only  imprac- 
ticable to  obtain  suitable  fry  for  this  purpose,  but  there  are  very 
few  who  know  how  to  undertake  stocking  with  native  fish.  Th* 
conditions  to  be  preserved  are  these: 

Dams  that  will  stand. 

Small   areas  of  water. 

Introduction  of  limited  varieties  of  fish. 

Ability  at  all  times  to  draw  off  the  water. 

Preparation  of  gravelly  places  for  spawning. 

Introduction  of  water  plants. 

Protection. 

Drive  wooden  piling  to  build  the  dam  on  and  make  a  waste- 
way  sufficient  to  carry  all  surplus  water.  Protect  the  waste- way 
with  wire  netting.  In  most  instances  it  does  not  matter  if  the 
bottom  of  the  pond  is  muddy  and  especially  in  the  case  of  bream 
and  blue  perch.  All  the  banks  several  feet  out  from  the  water's 
edge  and  foot  under  the  water  should  be  scraped  clean  to  the 
Band  with  a  hoe  to  dislodge  crawfish,  terrapins,  and  snakes.  For 
ordinary  purposes  small  ponds  are  preferable.  Where  one  or  a 
number  of  these  can  be  arranged  on  clear  sandy  streams  a  single 
variety  may  be  introduced  into  each  and  the  young  annually  re- 
moved to  larger  ponds.  The  great  loss  in  fish  is  in  the 
eggs.  A  single  variety  in  a  small  £  of  an  acre  pond  can  increase 
and  avoid  depredations  of  other  fish.  Our  native  perch  deposit 
twenty  to  thirty  thousand  eggs.  No  effectual  means  of  extermina- 
ting the  jack  fish  can  be  used,  except  the  careful  and  thorough 
preparation  of  [a  flood  gate  of  medium  size,  protected 
over  the  face  of  out-flow  with  wire  cloth.  Every  two  years 
the  water  should  be  lowered  and  the  fish  sorted  out,  and  jack 
fish  and  pike  removed.  I  believe  jack  fish  eggs  are  carried  by 
some  mechanical  means  into  various  waters,  as  perhaps  by  cling- 
ing ^o  the  feet  of  water-fowl. 

Gravel  or  sand  beds  in  the  shallow  water  near  the  inlet  will 
afford  natural  spawning  grounds.  If  not  present  it  should  be 
put  there. 

Water  plants  afford  numberless  insects  and  should  be  intro- 


(25) 

duced  from  neighboring  places.     They  are    well   known  and 
easily  obtained. 

King-fishers,  herrons  and  other  birds  will  only  be  kept  away 
by  locating  in  a  frequented  place. 

The  black  perch  is  found  on  the  Yadkin,  Catawba  and  other 
western  steams  and  will  make  a  success  in  ponds.  Also  the  large 
trout,  chub,  or  green  bass  will  pay.  In  the  middle  and  lower 
sections  the  white  perch,  is  generally  present  in  the  main  streams. 
Wherever  it  is  found  in  ponds  it  attains  a  size  of  one  to  two 
pounds.  In  the  lower  portion  of  the  State  I  would  unhesiat- 
tingly  recommend  this  and  the  bream  and  blue  perch  above  all 
others.  Any  of  these  are  excellent  as  food  and  have  firm  flesh. 
Many  other  fine  perch  are  susceptible  of  cultivation  and  can  be 
raised  in  ponds  with  slight  attention.  A  pond  on  the 
plantation  of  Mr.  Rowell  near  Wilmington  contains  a  very  sur- 
prising number  of  fish  in  a  very  limited  space.  There  are  eleven 
varieties  in  the  pond  or  there  would  be  a  greater  number.  He 
gives  them  a  few  grass- hoppers,  about  once  a  week,  and  the  one- 
eighth  acre  in  the  pond  would  furnish  a  considerable  family  the 
year  round.  The  young  fish  are  at  times  removed  to  his  mill 
pond. 

Willow  trees  or  others  that  attract  insects  should  be  planted 
near  fish  ponds. 

No  better  food  than  catterpillars  can  be  found.  All  the  perch 
and  chub  are  fond  of  mulberries — the  cheapness  of  which  %  ren- 
ders them  important. 

Three  or  four  small  ponds  are  greatly  preferred  to  one  large 
one. 

In  introducing  fish  into  a  pond  to  answer  as  food  for  larger 
ones  the  smaller  varieties  of  perch  are  to  be  preferred. 

There  is  no  work  which  treats  fully  on  this  subject,  but  my 
own  knowledge  of  what  has  been  accomplished  in  this  way 
shows  that  fish  of  any  variety  placed  into  a  pond  and  not  en- 
tirely neglected  will/  prove  a  source  of  pleasure  and  profit. 

Large  fish  cannot  be  carried  safely  without  using  very  large 
buckets  or  barrels  and  by  applying  changes  of  water.  In  carry- 
ing them  in  warm  weather  frequent  changes  are  necessary,  but 
sudden  changes  of  temperature  must  be  avoided.  When  a 


change  is  made,  it  :s  better   to  remove  only  A  portion  of  the 
water  and  make  changes  oftener.      With  care  they  can  be  car- 
ried a  number  of  hours  without  material  loss. 
Yours  respectfully, 

S.  G.  WORTH. 


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